I've always been a low cal eater. And my carbs usually sat around 100. With those eating habits my weight stays very steady. Since reaching adulthood, I've only really gained weight twice, which is when I was pregnant.

After my first daughter was born I went from the 140s to 154. I stayed between 154 and 156. I didn't mind this, I was still happy with my weight.

By the time my second daughter was born I was 171, and by 6 weeks after I was 180. I've stayed between 180 and 184 since. Tomorrow will be a year since her birth. I've looked into different diet plans and I liked what I learned about the ketogenic diet. But everything I read wanted you to cut out all sugars until you hit ketosis.

Which is the problem. Since my second daughter was born, my BP and my blood sugar tends to drop very fast if I eat to little or not enough. Yesterday I was at 31 carbs by the end of the day. Today I've put myself at 60 (as long as I follow my meal plan) because I ended up having a sugar drop in the middle of the store and grabbed the first thing I could which ended up being a chocolate bar.

Can I start a keto diet with fruit? Or do I have to cut out all of the sugars?

I think you probably do have to cut back to around 20 g, and for some that might be too much still. But getting rid of the carbs should help w your hypoglycemia.

What are you eating for b'fast? It might help to figure out one meal at a time. Like, figure out a good b'fast that doesnt send you into a low b/s (or possibly no b'fast if that works better) and once you figure that out work on your afternoon eating.

As far as what might work, a lot of people find that they feel good having a 100% fat b'fast, like maybe only coffee w heavy whipping cream or bulletproof coffee. I think that would likely be great for your hypoglycemia. You could also try fat and protein, maybe a few slices of bacon or a sausage patty. If I was you I would make sure to avoid all grain.

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jayne, type I diabetic and mama to two sweet boys (9/03 and 2/09)

So I'm way over on Protein, Way under on fats and calories. What fatty foods can I eat that wont include protein?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubidoux

I think you probably do have to cut back to around 20 g, and for some that might be too much still. But getting rid of the carbs should help w your hypoglycemia.

What are you eating for b'fast? It might help to figure out one meal at a time. Like, figure out a good b'fast that doesnt send you into a low b/s (or possibly no b'fast if that works better) and once you figure that out work on your afternoon eating.

As far as what might work, a lot of people find that they feel good having a 100% fat b'fast, like maybe only coffee w heavy whipping cream or bulletproof coffee. I think that would likely be great for your hypoglycemia. You could also try fat and protein, maybe a few slices of bacon or a sausage patty. If I was you I would make sure to avoid all grain.

The high fat foods that I rely on are cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, almonds, coconut oil (it's not very "food"-like but if you eat a T instead of snacking, it's pretty sating), fat bombs (I like 1/3 peanut butter, 1/3 CO, 1/3 kerrygold w liquid Splenda and a little salt).

You might also find that after a few days you don't want to eat much or often. I used to eat all the time, three meals plus snacks, but now I usually eat only twice a day bc I'm just not hungry or munchy.

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jayne, type I diabetic and mama to two sweet boys (9/03 and 2/09)

I can identify with what you're going through - until I started low-carbing I struggled with hypoglycemia. The first 3 days were hard, and then suddenly on day 4 I realized I wasn't daydreaming about food and craving carbs. Once ketosis sets in, the blood sugar drops will disappear for the most part.

So to answer your question: you do have to cut out the sugar and fruit, and keep your carbs to 20/day to allow your body to use up all the glycogen stored in your liver. If you eat in a way that keeps your blood sugar steady - say, 6 small meals spaced out every 2 hours or so - you'll be less likely to have hypoglycemia. Never eat carbs on their own. I know the chocolate bar you grabbed helped in the short term, but in the long run it just extends the time it will take you to get into ketosis.

If you have it, eating 2-3 TB of coconut oil/day will limit the amount of low-carb "flu" symptoms, and give you more energy. It usually takes 2-3 days to get into ketosis, but could take up to a week or so...it's different for everyone.

The other thing you'll need to watch is your sodium level. Ketosis has a diuretic effect, and with the water weight you'll lose potassium and sodium. That can drop your blood pressure and make you very dizzy, so drink a cup of bullion every day to make sure you get enough salt in your diet. Taking supplemental potassium and magnesium is a good idea, too, to keep things balanced.

I know it will be a struggle to get through the start of this, but once you're in ketosis, you won't be at the mercy of your blood sugar levels. That is very freeing - the weight loss is almost a bonus.